These mini banana ice cream pies are like a good hair day, but a reliable good hair day. Which is, of course, an oxymoron (unless you are using raw, holistic hair care… but that’s a story for another browser tab).
In my book, a good hair day is defined when one’s tresses appear more impressive than the entailed effort. Minimal time and energy for maximum effect. These ice cream pies require only 15 minutes of hands-on time, but look like a tedious masterpiece dessert from an artsy raw food cookbook. I love that ratio of preparation time to gorgeousness!
About the ingredients
Tigernut flour… okay, okay, stop laughing at the name. No tigers were harmed in the making of this recipe. Tigernuts are a tuber, not a nut, on which our paleolithic ancestors frequently sustained themselves. This ancient superfood features resistant starch (i.e. food for the good bacteria in our digestive system). It also lends a beautiful nutty, sweet flavor to the crust eliminating the need to sweeten the crust. Tigernut flour is available here and you can learn more about nutrition benefits of tigernuts here.
Frozen bananas, blended until creamy, are combined with whipped coconut cream. Make sure you use very ripe bananas, as this sweetens the ice cream base.
Cacao nibs pair beautifully with the flavors of banana and coconut, and add a chocolate crunch in the ice cream. Cacao nibs are not sweetened, and as a result, are a decadently dark chocolate experience.
- For the crust
- ¼ cup tigernut flour, available here, or another nut/seed flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- For the ice cream
- 2 large and very ripe bananas, frozen
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 Tbs. cacao nibs plus additional for topping, available here
- Line 6 muffin cups with paper liners. To make the crust, combine all the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the 6 muffin cups.
- To make the filling, open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop out the thick coconut cream which separates to the top. Discard the water in the can or save it for smoothies, it is not needed for the recipe.
- With a handheld blender, whip the coconut cream until it looks like whipped cream.
- In a blender (I use the smoothie attachment to my beloved Ninja blender), blend the frozen bananas until creamy. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to allow blending.
- Stir together the whipped coconut cream, blended bananas, and cacao nibs and divide between the muffin wells. Sprinkle with additional cacao nibs. Freeze until solid, at least 6 hours, before enjoying.
- Once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the freezer.
These look quite easy and yummy! I have never heard of the tigernut flour!
I’ve made thos recipe and it’s outstanding!!! Love it. I love making banana ‘ice cream’ – what a fantastic use for it!
Thanks for sharing!
What an awesome recipe, I love making banana ‘ice cream’ – what a fantastic use for it!
Can you substitute coconut flour here? Thanks for always having yummy recipes to share!
If not coconut flour, is there any good substitute for tigernut flour? Thank you!
You could use coconut flour or another nut/seed flour. You may need to play with increasing the oil slightly to help bind the crust.
Can I substitute almond flour instead of tigernut flour for a similar treat? I have mailordered the tigernut flour but want to try the recipe today.
Yes, that would work well I believe.
Wouldn’t eating those two flours raw be hard on the stomach? I’ve used coconut flour quite a bit, but always in baked goods or a microwaved muffin-in-a-cup. Seems like you could bake the crust in the tins before you put in the wet ingredients and freeze them. Have you tried this?
There is not need to bake the crust, as the digestibility of the flours will not change. Compared to grain-based flours, coconut and tigernut flours are much easier on the stomach. I enjoy the convenience of using these flours without baking, as they do not taste “raw” and are often used without cooking.
When you say a can of coconut milk, what size can? I have a 5.4 oz can of coconut cream…
Is there a reason you never include nutrition facts?
Thanks for all your great tips and recipes.
I don’t buy the canned coconut milk b/c most contain guar gum… and concern for the lipophylic nature of the chemicals in can lining particularly with full fat foods. In my expereince homemade coconut milk does not generate as much coconut cream on top as the coconut milk in the can…do you think this will work with the homemade version? Thank-you!
Just made these last night and HOLY MOLY are they good! I think I am going to double the crust part because it was so delicious! Thanks Lauren for sharing such a mouthwatering recipe 🙂